The days continue to be difficult ...

We had always beamed when we sighted Gray whale Cow/calf pairs. Now, we are mixed, at best. We boiled it down to: we do not want one to be there; but, if it is there, we want to see it.

At first sight, we advise NOAA personnel that it is heading their way. Hopefully, they can do something to usher the whales away from the oil.

As the whales pass us, we document them with images that we send to NOAA personnel further up the California coast. If they are able to recognize the whales as they pass the survey station, they will assure us that the pair made it that far.

We continue to have questions about what is occurring with the floating oil and what anybody or group can do to save some of those in harm’s way.

The arrow in the above image points to oil pressed against the kelp at Sands Beach, west of our counting station. The kelp is offshore of the Snowy Plover nesting area (very vulnerable).

One of the questions we had was: Is what is in the image oil from the spill that had been pushed at us by the gale-force winds yesterday, or is it a trail of oil emanating from one of the numerous, natural oil seeps that surround Coal Oil Point (we call it Counter Point)?

We don’t know the answer.

Marine life around here has put up with the natural seeps for millions of years, not without problems like oiled feathers and fur, but it is very different from a concentrated, oil spill.

We feel frustrated and concerned, as are many. And, we saw lots to be concerned about today:

Humpback whales breaching, blowing, pec-slapping and chasing the fish thousands of Common dolphins were attempting to corral. Closer to us was a large group of California seal lions porpoising to the gathering outside, attended also by hundreds of seabirds.

Bottlenose dolphins were working closer to shore, in and around the kelp areas. We saw about a dozen, in three groups with two dolphin calves in the second group.

A harbor seal was in the kelp, resting, just to our left.

Our pair of Gray whales arrived just after nine. We hardly had time to acknowledge our apprehension. The blows and hesitant progress at Campus Point put us momentarily at ease. We were in familiar territory, and tracking the young whale explore the site brought smiles all around.

The mother nursed her calf, who was proud to showoff the mess on its face with maybe a bit too much exuberance ...

For updates on the oil spill: check this link to the Independent.

Gray whales northbound (all) 2 | Calves 1 — 2015 Count 1416 | 245

Hours 8:00